


it was one kingdom, once

by bukkunkun



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fucking Hell I'm So Sorry, Grief/Mourning, I'm Sorry, Iago Is A Fucking Creeper, Mild Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, Nudity, Past Sexual Abuse, Survivor Guilt, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:43:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(An AU where everyone. is. girls. Except Corrin. But he's not tapping anyone.)</p><p>“It was one kingdom, once.”</p><p>The blonde fell silent. </p><p>“Can we make this work?” She asked quietly. </p><p>“Yes,” she said, without a hint of hesitation. </p><p>“Yes.” Xandria replied, and it wasn't affirmation. </p><p>It was acceptance.</p><p>(Alternate title: The More (than) 7 Times She Saw Her)</p>
            </blockquote>





	it was one kingdom, once

**Author's Note:**

> so there were ~~complaints~~ calls for a ryoumarx side and here it is guys ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
>  
> 
> **THIS IS IMPORTANT. THIS FIC HAS A SCENE WITH ATTEMPTED RAPE. PLEASE, IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY IT OR CANNOT HANDLE SUCH SCENES, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. IT HAPPENS AT SIGHTING #43. PLEASE BE ADVISED ACCORDINGLY. TAKE CARE AND PLEASE STAY SAFE.**
> 
>  
> 
> anyway, so there are two xandrias and ryoukos i subscribe to. one is on [this log](http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=56893767) and the other on [this log](http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=57562921). they're so,,,, beautiful,,,,,,, so yea. 
> 
> Contains mild spoilers for Revelations. Also a whole lot of Gay Princesses™ and Corrin being the lazy "genius" he is. i love him
> 
> please enjoy this fic that got way too long and out of hand
> 
>  
> 
> ~~and if you caught the references, let me know in the comments and hmu to let me tell you about the magic that is ryouleo and my newest writing project~~

The first time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, the both of them never thought they would face each other off in the heat of battle.

Ryouko watched the blonde delicately nibble on the dango they had been served, and thought to herself there was no way this timid little girl would fare well in battle.

They were little girls then, brought by their fathers in a diplomatic meeting. Princess Xandria just had her first sibling born, some boy named Andrew, or something, Ryouko hardly cared, and Nohr and Hoshido were to rejoice his birth. His mother had been a Hoshidan noble, taken as a concubine by Xandria’s father to strengthen the bond between Nohr and Hoshido. Ryouko peered at the little girl standing next to her mother, and she pouted. She looked too uncomfortable in that dress she was in. The obi around her body looked far too tight and made of the wrong material. Obi weren't made from leather and metal—they were made from silk or cotton or something, so they would comfortably hold their robes closed.

Xandria met her eye at that moment, and she jumped, her golden curls held up in twintails by a pair of black ribbons rustling as she moved, and she hid behind her mother. Ryouko felt a pinch to her side and she bit back a whine, looking up pleadingly at her mother.

“Ryouko. Smile.” She scolded her gently, and Ryouko looked back at Xandria, quivering behind her mother.

“She's so wimpy.” She complained instead, and Xandria winced and she looked just about ready to cry.

“Ryouko!” Sumeragi scolded her, and her mother sighed exasperatedly. “Hold your tongue! We have guests.”

Ikona pressed her hand over Ryouko’s mouth when she opened it to speak again.

“My dear. Look at her, you've upset her.” She said, and it was true—Xandria was steadily starting to openly cry. “You should make it up to her. The both of you should be friends.”

Ryouko frowned behind her mother’s hand, but she nodded.

“I'm terribly sorry, King Garon,” Sumeragi apologised, but the Nohrian King laughed kindly.

“They're still children, old friend. Give them time.”

And so they were given, Ryouko and Xandria alone in a room together with Saizo standing at the corner, already training to keep watch over her as his liege. The brunette huffed, resting her chin on her hand to openly stare at Xandria, and the blonde shut her mouth, tense.

Ryouko had yet to mature into a girl who was mature enough to take the initiative in a conversation, so she stayed completely quiet, watching Xandria struggle internally to figure out what to say.

“P-please be honest with me.” She stammered after a long moment, and Ryouko was surprised to hear the force in her voice. She raised an eyebrow in silent response, watching as Xandria flushed darkly, already embarrassed at having spoken first. “Do-do you h-hate me?”

She had a slight lisp, and a stuttering problem, but Ryouko knew those could be straightened out in time.

“Not really.” She admitted. “You're just…” She made a few vague gestures, and from his corner she could hear Saizo snicker slightly. She giggled slightly, too, and waved her hands, giving up. “You're really weird.”

“W-well, so are you.” Xandria seemed to be gaining confidence in her speech. “But that's because we just met.”

Ryouko took a moment to consider that, and finally nodded.

“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged.

“We should probably introduce ourselves.” Xandria declared, and finally, there was the Nohrian princess Ryouko was looking for in her. She held her hand out to her. “My name is Xandria, crown princess of Nohr.”

Ryouko stared at her hand. She knew her father shook her father's hand when they did this, but Xandria was a girl. She knew her father kissed Xandria’s mother’s hand, and Xandria’s father did the same with her mother. It was strange how the tradition was different for men and women, but Ryouko knew she had to, in the least, follow courtly manners.

She took Xandria’s hand and kissed it. “And I am Ryouko, High Princess of Hoshido.” She replied.

Xandria shot her hand away, spluttering as her cheeks coloured anew, and Ryouko sat there, blinking at her confusedly. What had she done wrong _this_ time?

“Y-you were supposed to shake my hand.” She stammered, and Ryouko cocked her head.

“But you're a girl.”

“I-it only works between a boy and a girl!” Xandria squealed, flustered. “T-try again.” She stammered, holding her hand out at her again, and Ryouko took it to shake it. “S-see? That's better.”

Ryouko frowned. Honestly, she couldn't see what good shaking hands did, or why everyone deemed it much more polite than a kiss on the hand. If anything, it was very flattering. Warm, even. Her mother kissed her cheeks and those felt nice.

“Okay…” She trailed off. “My mother said that we have to be friends. Do you play with dolls or something?”

“Do you?” Xandria asked her back, and Ryouko scowled as best as she could and she shook her head.

“I'm pretty clumsy. I'd break all the porcelain dolls I have in my shelves.” She said. “Anyway, it's not like I like them. I prefer sparring. That's _more_ fun.”

Xandria finally smiled. “So do I.” She replied. “I receive little tea sets and dolls all the time but I'd much rather study and train. I want to wield this beautiful blade we have up on the wall back home.”

“Me too!” Ryouko cheered up considerably. Finally, a playmate more interested in the harder things in life. In the swords and spears of boyhood rather than some dumb fragile dolls she wasn't even allowed to play with. “My father has this amazing sword called the Raijinto, and I want it to be mine someday!”

“My father never inherited Siegfried,” Xandria warmly said. “No one has, actually, since my great-great grandfather. It's a very picky sword.”

“Really?” Ryouko cocked her head. “How?”

“Well, my mother told me it burns the hand of the unworthy that wield it!” Xandria looked so determined, and Ryouko had to admire her bravery. “That's why I'm going to train hard. I'll be a most perfect princess to ever wield that sword!”

“You better!” Ryouko nodded enthusiastically. “I'm going to inherit the Raijinto, and someday, you and I are going to spar with them.”

She held her hand out at Xandria. “Deal?”

Xandria looked at her hand, blinking owlishly before she smiled, and took her hand. She shook it, once, hesitantly, as if debating on whether or not she was going to do something, when she suddenly pulled Ryouko’s hand close and kissed it.

It was Ryouko’s turn to blush. “Princess Xandria,” her name still stumbled off her tongue clumsily, Nohrian syllables foreign on her Hoshidan tongue, “I thought only boys did that to girls.”

“Well, you did it to me, then I have to do it to you, too.” Xandria replied simply. “It's only fair.”

Ryouko smiled slowly at her, fondness finally growing for the blonde princess.

“Very well.” She nodded. “For our future,” she said, imitating her father at dinners, and Xandria gave her a wide smile.

“For our future.” She agreed, sounding more sure of what she was saying, and the two girls grew hope for a bright future and the most wonderful friendship.

Later, as Ryouko lay on the ground, panting after long laughter, her shinai knocked out of her hands and lying uselessly beside her, she looked up at Xandria and smiled at her brightly.

“You did well, for someone who trained by herself.” Xandria chuckled, and Saizo cleared his throat pointedly loudly in the corner. She giggled, and helped a giggling Ryouko to her feet. “And her retainer, of course.” She nodded at the ninja, who only huffed, but Ryouko knew Saizo well enough to know he was blushing behind that face mask. He never could take a compliment without getting embarrassed.

“Thanks,” Ryouko grinned at her, “Looks like I’ve got a lot to learn.”

“You’ve got time.” Xandria replied warmly, pausing for only a moment, before spreading her arms. “... Are we friends now?”

Ryouko didn’t miss a beat.

“Friends.” She smiled, and pulled her into a tight hug.

But then Sumeragi was killed, and Nohr and Hoshido closed their borders to each other for years to come.

* * *

The second time Ryouko saw Xandria, she thought she had grown into a beautiful woman, with her golden curls arranged into perfection under the heavy iron of her crown, and the glower on her face suited her all too well.

Did she remember her, she thought to herself as she drew her blade, gritting her teeth.

“The Nohrians have arrived.” Yukimura declared gravely. “Ryouko-hime,” he began to say, but she was already charging forward, dead set on getting to Corrin first.

“Nee-san!” Takumi yelled, running after her, but Hinoka held her back.

“Takumi, no.” She sternly said, and Ryouko looked over her shoulder to look at her younger sister. The two nodded at each other, and Ryouko reached Corrin right before Xandria could.

“This way!” She barked, holding her hand out to him, and she could hear Sakura call him from where she stood at the frontlines.

“Big brother!”

“He's _my_ brother!” Came a distant voice and Ryouko could barely make out a pigtailed blonde being held back by a much taller purple-haired woman. Xandria’s sisters.

“ _We’re_ your family.” Xandria’s voice had matured so much, Ryouko thought, and her head whipped around in time for Xandria to look back at her as well. They spared no moment to hold their gazes any longer—the both of them turned to look back at Corrin.

He had such a conflicted look on his face. The crease in his brow that was near-permanent ever since his mother died was one Ryouko wanted to smooth out, to kiss away and assure him things were alright, that they were his family and that he was loved.

With the way the strong look melted on Xandria’s face as she saw him, she must have thought the same.

“I… I'm so sorry, everyone.” Corrin haltingly said, “I-I feel like I have no choice but to…”

His hands balled into fists.

“... To join neither one of you.”

Ryouko’s heart shot down to her gut and Xandria’s shattered.

“What?!” Ryouko gasped, just as Xandria’s horse reared back, whinnying powerfully. “Corrin, you—”

“I'm sorry, big sister.” Corrin apologised, “Both you and big sister Xandria are my family. I will not fight either one of you.”

Shock gave way to denial, and then to rage.

“Then we shall fight here! This war is _over_!” Xandria roared, her rage flaring in the dark fire enveloping her sword, and Ryouko couldn't help but feel proud of her. She had mastered Siegfried, just as she promised.

Excellent. She had mastered Raijinto in their years apart.

“Big sister Xandria, wait—” Corrin was cut off by a bolt of darkness shot his way. He could only stand there, shocked, but Ryouko shoved him aside and out of danger, uncaring if he fell, and drew Raijinto from its sheath.

“To the death, Princess of Nohr!” She challenged, and she did not miss the way pain flickered in Xandria’s eyes, even for just a moment.

“To the death!” Xandria mightily answered, and they launched at each other, blades clashing.

She'd dreamt of this. Of facing Xandria off with Raijinto, its holy blade clashing with Siegfried’s might. But not like this.

Siegfried shot forward at her in a powerful lunge, but she quickly dodged to the side, feeling the heat from the blade as it narrowly missed her cheek.

 _Never_ like this.

Raijinto got in a stab between the plates of Xandria’s left shoulder armour, and the blonde barely made a sound, despite the blood spilling out between the metal. It earned Ryouko a kick in the gut and she fell back, the wind knocked right out of her lungs.

“Lady Xandria!”

“Ryouko-hime!”

The two princesses turned at the sound of their commanders’ voices, and their eyes widened to see Corring standing over their felled bodies, fire burning in his eyes. Behind him was a dead wyvern covered in monstrous bites and bleeding claw marks.

“Cease your fighting!” He yelled, his hands shaking with rage, and the Dragonstone around his neck glinted ominously. “This war is meaningless, and the both of you know it! Can’t you be friends?”

_“Are we friends?”_

_“Friends.”_

Ryouko hesitated for a moment at the memory, and a moment was all it took.

“Eyes on me, Princess Ryouko!” Xandria barked, and Ryouko dodged in time to avoid getting Siegfried stabbed through her arm. It did, however, catch on her, and she screamed at the fire that burned her flesh, the wound the actual blade made clotting almost immediately. She whirled around, thrusting Raijinto to the sky to send a bolt of lightning through Xandria’s body, and only the princess’s answering scream of pain told her it landed as her own pain blinded her.

Corrin suddenly let out a monstrous roar.

“Cease your fighting!” His voice had taken an otherworldly timbre, and in the haze of the tears that gathered in her eyes, Ryouko realised he had turned into a dragon once more. “Or I will cut down your armies myself!”

Xandria was the first to give, shock from the horrible sight of Corrin’s transformation and Ryouko’s attack shaking her enough to force her hand.

“We retreat!” She bellowed, her voice still powerful despite the pain clearly burning her inside out. Ryouko stumbled to her feet, tears of pain from her burning wound and from… something else she couldn’t place rolling down her cheeks as she watched Xandria gallop away. “We must return to Nohr! Corrin is no longer our brother; he is a traitor and must be killed on sight!”

Ryouko watched the dragon falter, and her heart ached for his pain.

However, it seemed he would not sway her way either. As a dragon, she knew he was under control thanks to Azura’s Dragonstone, but only the gods knew for how long. She would not let any more Hoshidan blood be spilled today.

Biting back grief, Ryouko lurched back, away from Corrin, using Raijinto as a cane to stab into the drying earth.

“Retreat, Hoshidans!” She called, her voice breaking, almost lost to the sound of Hinoka’s mount’s wings beating as she came to rescue her sister. “Return home; Corrin has betrayed his family—has betrayed Hoshido! We must kill him when we get the chance!”

It hurt her, like a sword stabbed into her gut and _twisting_ , and she wished for the mercy of death instead of this torture.

But she was a princess of Hoshido, and the land of light and dawn will always need its hope.

She dared not look over her shoulder, lest she saw Corrin’s heart breaking, for she knew she would break as well. She let Hinoka pull her up on her mount, fussing over her burn, and she forced a laugh.

“You should have seen the other woman.” She managed to say, and that was enough to placate her sister into calming down slightly.

As Hinoka flew her back to the army, already making their retreat, she wondered how Xandria was doing in the middle of all this, and if Corrin’s betrayal hurt her as much as it hurt her.

She also wondered if she remembered they were friends, and the promise they made.

* * *

The third time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, she thought, no, she would not have remembered their promise as little girls, giggling together under the Hoshidan sun in the crux of summer when the heat was too hot and the wind was too strong, and the insects too relentless, but the flowers bloomed ever so beautifully.

“You Nohrians _destroyed_ Cyrkensia!” She accused, her voice lost once again to the sound of flapping wings, Scarlet’s wyvern flying over her head as she pointed Raijinto at the woman across the harbor. At this distance, she could hardly see the blonde; she couldn’t see what kind of expression she was making, she couldn’t see if the stab wound in her shoulder and the lightning burns on her skin had disappeared.

“The Hoshidans attacked first!” Xandria spat back, Siegfried burning angrily in her clenched fist, and in the farthest end of the dock, her little traitor prince showed up again, beside him Sakura and Takumi, and much to Ryouko’s surprise, Princesses Elise and Camilla.

“Ryouko,” Scarlet held her shoulder, her wyvern dropping down next to her heavily with a _thud_ she could feel in her bones, “Up and at ‘em. We can take both that Princess Xandria and Prince Corrin down together.”

Ryouko nodded, jumping up on her wyvern to sit in front of her, still unused to riding mounts, let alone _flying_ ones. Scarlet wrapped her arms around her waist, intimately and warmly, and she didn’t mind.

(Briefly, in the back of her mind, she remembered the hugs she and Xandria shared in the brief time they spent together in their childhood, and Scarlet’s hugs felt the same.)

“Hold on tight.” Scarlet told her, right in her ear, and she nodded.

The feeling of wind underneath her feet was a new one, not too unwelcome, and yet all too foreign. She was clumsy in the air, Scarlet’s giggles her coach as she tried to balance herself on the wyvern, and she could not see the expression on Xandria’s face.

Only the ferocity of a woman scorned, of a woman burning with anger, as she took down enemies left and right, striking fear into even her ever loyal retainers.

Ryouko quietly wished it was because of her.

When Corrin’s troops forced Xandria’s retreat, Ryouko swallowed her pride to approach her estranged brother. She barely let out a word as she approached him, when he pulled her into a tight, warm hug.

(No, she thought. This hug was different from Xandria’s or Scarlet’s. It was just as kind, yes, but it wasn’t the _same_.)

“Corrin,” She began, but he looked up at her with teary eyes, and her heart broke at the trust and desperation and _fear_ he had in his eyes.

This dragon wasn’t a traitor.

This dragon was her _brother_ , and how could she have been so _stupid_ to not see that?

She listened to his story, agreed silently to meet him when the skies changed over Nohr and Hoshido, and as she and Scarlet began to prepare their army’s travel, the blonde gave her a cheeky grin.

“You know, Ryouko,” she said, “You’re an absolutely wonderful sister.”

Ryouko gave her a halfhearted smile, and thought back to the memory of Xandria’s smile.

“Am I?”

Scarlet’s smile was nice. It was wide, cheeky and lopsided and friendly, but it wasn’t _hers_.

“Definitely.” She ruffled the brunette’s hair, and it earned her bright peals of laughter. Scarlet paused suddenly, and snickered behind her hand. “Don’t look now, but Corrin saw you laughing.”

“That’s a good thing.” Ryouko said, mostly to assure herself more than anything, and Scarlet nodded.

“Definitely.” She agreed, and secured the last bag on her wyvern. “Well, I’m done packing. Let’s move out!”

Ryouko nodded, and turned to her commander. “We move out in ten minutes.”

The man gave her a terse nod, and headed off to order the army to ready themselves.

As Ryouko got back on Scarlet’s wyvern, she opted to sit behind her this time, trying not to remember the way Xandria felt in her arms.

The Nohrians were enemies, after all. It would do no good to be thinking about them like this.

* * *

The fourth time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, rain loomed over their heads in the Bottomless Canyon, and Princess Leona had just saved Takumi’s life.

Ryouko sat behind Scarlet as she made a wide loop of the area, and she could feel the blonde snickering. She raised an eyebrow, the Nohrian’s laughter contagious enough to pull a smile on her lips, and she elbowed her gently. “What’s wrong?”

“‘I’d like to get an edge on that Princess Xandria’?” Scarlet snickered. “And here I thought Miss High-and-Holy Hoshido was a Country before Self kind of woman.”

Ryouko flushed deeply. “ _Scarlet_.” She scolded, but she laughed her off.

“Yeah, I get it. Crown Princess versus Crown Princess kind of thing, right? I can see why.” She said, and suddenly her wyvern dove, pulling a shriek from Ryouko. Scarlet laughed as her arms tightened around her waist, and when the wyvern pulled a hard upthrust before they could hit the land, Ryouko gasped deeply. “Relax, Ryouko.” She laughed, patting her arms around her waist. “I see your princess right there. Dead ahead.”

Ryouko coughed delicately, and shakily pulled away from her. “Drop me off here.” She said, and Scarlet nodded, flying forward faster. Ryouko steadied herself, and when the moment was right, she leapt off the wyvern to get a berserker charging right at Xandria’s blind spot.

“How naive!” She called, cutting him down right as Xandria turned around to see her.

She straightened up, tossing her hair over her shoulder and defiantly stared back at her. “Princess Xandria.”

“... Princess Ryouko.”

That’s right. They were no longer innocent little girls playing swords together in Castle Shirasagi’s gardens. They were no longer the same people they used to be. They had grown far, far apart in the years away from each other.

They were no longer friends.

“I should thank your sister for saving my sister’s life.” She said stiffly, and she noted the way Xandria’s hand tightened around Siegfried’s handle.

“She did because I told her to.” Xandria replied, “Get down,” She warned, and Ryouko ducked to the side as Xandria shot a bolt of darkness at the mage coming up behind her. “It would do for us not to lose more units as we already have.” She continued, as Ryouko fought off a berserker coming their way. “We are terribly outnumbered; Iago has influential control over the Nohrian army.”

“And you do not?” Ryouko asked, snickering snidely, “Crown Princess of Nohr?”

“You weren’t this rude before.” Xandria threw her a curveball, and Ryouko’s smile fell into a frown.

“And you weren’t such a…” bitch, she wanted to say, but she could be mature. She could not cuss the blonde out without sounding like a sore loser. “... Witch.”

Close enough.

“The Xandria you knew and the Xandria you are facing right now are completely different people now, Princess Ryouko.” Her tone was clipped, colder than ice. “Do not think I’ll come back to playing around with _you_. Nohr and Hoshido are at war, and as Crown Princess, I embody my nation.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Nohrians had a permanent stick up their ass.” She shot back, and there she was again. The temper her mother had always scolded of her; the temper that always scared away suitors, much to the delight of her father.

Xandria glowered down at her, and Ryouko suddenly saw a shadow charging behind her.

The memory of them as children, laughing together, hand in hand as they lightly bullied Saizo, or had desserts together, or trained together, flashed through her mind, and fear seized her heart.

She would not lose the person she made those memories she held dear with.

“Look out!” she gasped, shoving her aside, throwing her off her horse, and an arrow plunged into Ryouko’s shoulder, right around the same spot where she had gotten Raijinto into Xandria. The blonde’s eyes widened as she hit the ground, dirt flying up to muss her perfect appearance. She barely let out a grunt, writhing to turn around, raising Siegfried to shoot dark fire at the bow knight that attacked them.

Ryouko fell to the ground, gritting her teeth at the pain that shot down her arm. Xandria hurried to her feet, digging around the pockets hidden behind plates of armour on her horse, and she pulled out a concoction.

“Princess Ryouko!” she barked, rushing to the brunette on the ground. “Open your armour!”

Ryouko’s hands were clumsy from the pain but she managed to get her shoulder guards off, wincing as she saw the arrow had gone through her underclothes and into her flesh.

“Take a breath,” Xandria ordered, and she drew a sharp breath, bracing herself as Xandria’s hand wrapped around the arrow’s shaft. “One, two—” she sharply tugged the arrow out cleanly. Ryouko bit back a groan of pain as Xandria pulled down her underclothes to pour the concoction over her wound. She hissed as she could feel her flesh knot back together, the sharp scent of herbs and blood mixing together. “There.”

“Thank you,” Ryouko hissed through bit teeth. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.” Xandria replied, offering her hand to Ryouko. “I should thank you, then. For saving my life.”

Ryouko grimaced as she was helped back on her feet, tugging her underclothes up but it was already disturbed, no longer secure the way it was before she entered battle. This would be risky. She pulled her shoulder guard back on, and sighed.

“Don’t put too much meaning into it.” She huffed. “I’m doing this because Corrin cares about you a lot. I’d hate to hurt him.”

“As do I.” Xandria replied, coughing delicately. “I know I tried to kill him before, but… something came over me. Anger, darkness, I do not know.” She held Siegfried tighter, her expression darkening as she did so, “But now, I swear my life to protect him.”

“We both do.” Ryouko firmly nodded. “But for now, we have a battle to win, Princess Xandria. May I count on your cooperation?”

Xandria gave her a wry smile as she mounted her horse again.

“You already have.” She said. “Onwards, Princess Ryouko.”

Ryouko nodded, and together they charged towards more approaching enemies.

* * *

“Get on my horse, you bumbling little girl.”

The Hoshidan huffed at her, ignoring her hand to ride behind her, jumping up with ease to ride sidesaddle. It was easier to fire the Fujin Yumi that way, what with the huge Nohrian blockade in the way.  
  
Leona rolled her eyes, and spurred her horse into a gallop.   
  
“Five!”   
  
“Five!”   
  
“Six, seven eight!”   
  
“Nine—ten! Ugh—you can’t hide from me!”

* * *

“Eleven! Giving up already, Princess Takumi?”

“Not a chance! Nine—ten—eleven— _twelve_!”

The sound of Leona and Takumi’s voices caught Ryouko’s attention, and she stopped to let Xandria finish off the last man of the squadron they faced.

Ryouko lowered her Raijinto, lightning still crackling from it, as she looked up to see her little sister perched precariously behind Leona. Xandria also slowed down, lowering Siegfried to watch them ride around the battlefield, in an intense shout-match of increasing numbers.  
  
Twin smiles crossed their faces, and when they looked back at each other, they both flushed, and hurried to wipe their smiles off their faces.   
  
“P-Princess Xandria.” Ryouko was the first to recover, “Sounds like our sisters are getting along well.”   
  
“Indeed,” the blonde stiffly agreed, and resolutely kept her gaze away from the gap that was opening in Ryouko’s armour, exposing the shorter woman’s smooth-looking collarbone. “... Quite a pleasant surprise.”   
  
Ryouko looked at the furiously blushing princess, and noted how easily shadow-cloaked pale Nohrian skin flushed the deepest red. “Perhaps there is hope to this unlikely alliance after all.”   
  
Xandria finally allowed herself to smile behind her hand, and she nodded. “Perhaps.”

Ryouko liked the thought. She, too, smiled at Xandria, and she noted how the flush on her cheeks darkened, even behind the darkness of the skies above them. “We should finish this battle soon.”

“Indeed.” She offered her hand to Ryouko, and the brunette blinked at it. Xandria coughed delicately, keeping her eyes firmly away from the shorter princess. “It will rain soon, Princes Ryouko. It would do to keep you from getting stuck in the mud.”

“Who’re you calling short?” Ryouko shot back, but she was smiling, and it felt like they were back to the old times, back when Ryouko developed an unhealthy obsession with Nohrian milk, if only to grow taller than her blonde playmate. Xandria simply chuckled, and the brunette took her hand to climb on her horse. The first few droplets of rain began to fall as Xandria rode on, and Ryouko held on tight, hugging her and feeling her warmth through her armour.

Perhaps she _was_ the same girl she met all those years ago, she thought, relishing Xandria’s warmth and the faint smell of roses on the fabric of her underclothes. She missed this familiar warmth.

She missed her.

She wondered if Xandria felt the same.

* * *

The twenty-first time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, they were in Corrin’s castle in an alternate astral plane, and she was curiously peering at an ore she had gotten out of the spring. She looked like she had just finished diving, her hair still dripping wet much like her body was, and she was in a simple two piece black bathing suit Nohrians preferred to use when taking a dip. Like this Ryouko could see all the scars she collected over the years, and one of the largest ones was on the junction of her left shoulder, huge and slightly bulging. It was surrounded with fine, clean lines of a lightning burn, and she knew where that came from.

She gave that wound to her.

Ryouko unconsciously gripped her arm where Siegfried caught her, and remembered the burn on her own skin, still dark, slowly recovering thanks to Sakura’s powerful magic.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself, before approaching the blonde.

“That’s a pearl you’re looking at.” She declared, catching her attention, and with Xandria’s eyes right on her, Ryouko could feel her blood burn under her skin.

It suddenly occurred to her just how much Xandria had matured since the last time they met. She had grown taller, _much_ taller, as she stood up to full height in front of her to acknowledge her presence. Her eyes had gotten sharper, none of the innocent roundness Ryouko had seen in her younger years. Xandria’s hair was even golder than she remembered it, shining beautifully in the sun, curls tamed by the water holding them down, but as it dripped off and her hair dried out, some returned to their impeccable spindle. Her face was also different—no longer soft and kind, round with youth and innocence, now all beautiful curves and angles of a sharp, powerful woman.

She was… _beautiful._

Her eyes trailed down, and a blush crossed Ryouko’s face.

Xandria was also… very well endowed. Not as bountiful as Princess Camilla, but…

Ryouko shook her head. Now was not the time, nor was it proper to think of the other princess that way.

“I'm aware.” Xandria replied, smiling slightly. “This is used to forge katana, correct?”

“Ah, yes.” Ryouko tore her eyes away from Xandria’s collarbones to look in her eyes. The amusement was familiar to her, warm and kind in her dark wine-coloured eyes, and Ryouko finally relaxed. “That's a rather beautiful pearl you have there. Some can argue it would belong better on a beautiful woman.”

 _Like yourself,_ was left unsaid, but Ryouko hopes Xandria heard it in the way her hand curled around hers holding the pearl.

Xandria’s smile was friendly, and not a hint of a blush crossed her face.

She didn't hear it.

“Well. A pearl has a better use for the army in a katana than around a woman’s neck.” Xandria lightly commented, clenching her fist around the ore. “I must excuse myself; I've to get this to the smithy.”

She was leaving again.

“Princess Xandria,” Ryouko’s mouth moved before her head could rein it in. “How about a spar?”

The blonde stopped, blinking at her.

“It’s—it's been ages.” She stammered. “And we've yet to actually duel properly.”

Ryouko knew she was blushing. Xandria could see her blushing.

At any point in time she knew Xandria could laugh her off, say they could not get those years lost back again, and her gut churned in worry.

Why, why, _why_ did she ask that?

“Very well.” Xandria suddenly smiled, and relief flooded Ryouko’s burning blood like the sweet relief of dousing cold water. “Accompany me to the smithy first, Princess Ryouko, and let's spar to dry myself off.”

“And a hot bath, after.” Ryouko finally knew what Takumi felt like when she couldn't shut up. Another foot deeper into the ground, she thought. Gods, it'd been years since they spoke like this. Letters to each other could not do justice to actually speaking face to face.

“Yes, that sounds lovely.” Xandria finally blushed, if a little, and Ryouko could finally relax in relief.

She could do this. They needed to work together for Corrin, after all. Allies should not fight alongside one another with the air tense between them.

She followed after Xandria, years-old strides familiar and easy to fall back into, and Ryouko thought this was fine.

This wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

No, it absolutely was not. _Not at all_.

The spar they had was fun enough, at least. An old, all-too-familiar wooden broadsword against a beat-up shinai clashing against each other brought waves of nostalgia to Ryouko’s heart, and she and Xandria fell into an easy rhythm their younger selves had gotten used to. It was so easy to come back to their older days, when it was just her and Xandria in a training room, Ryouko’s loose white socks and Xandria’s tight white stockings slipping over polished wood while Saizo watched over them.

At some point in their spar Ryouko finally noticed her retainer standing in the corner of the courtyard space they were sparring in, and she couldn't help but smile.

“Just like old times, Saizo?” She called during a lull in the blows she and Xandria exchanged and even the blonde smiled at him. The ninja replied with only a grunt, but Ryouko knew he was there for the sake of nostalgia.

He'd missed her, too.

It had been going well, and Ryouko found herself enjoying herself, until Xandria called off their spar to take her up on her invite for a bath.

Together.

Standing stiffly in front of the door to the baths, wearing only a towel, Ryouko internally debated on bailing out. She could simply say no, she didn't have to explain herself, she was a grown woman. She could do this.

She stepped into the hot springs to see Xandria already sitting inside, her head tilted back against the edge, her eyes shut. Her hair billowed out behind her like a golden halo, and there was a slight flush on her cheeks from the heat. Her lips were a peach pink, slightly parted as she breathed, and Ryouko caught herself wondering how they tasted. Her neck, pale and so _vulnerable_ , was open and exposed, and Ryouko’s eyes trailed further down to see her naked chest heaving with slow, careful breaths, breasts half-submerged in the water, leaving little to the imagination.

Xandria’s chest was bigger than she thought, was the first thing in Ryouko’s head as she entered, and all intentions of bailing were dispelled when Xandria slowly opened her eyes to look right into Ryouko’s, holding her in place.

“Ah, Princess Ryouko.” She smiled, sitting up properly, and Ryouko willed herself with all her might not to stare at Xandria’s body. “Please, come inside. The water feels wonderful.”

“O-of course.” Ryouko pulled off her own towel, and flushed deeply when she saw Xandria watching her strip. Trying her best to remain calm, she climbed into the warmth of the bath, and the moment she sat down, the heat melted her stress away. Sighing deeply, Ryouko laid back, smiling.  “Oh, this is absolutely wonderful.”

“Mm, _divine._ ” Xandria moaned from across her, and Ryouko shivered a little at that. Was that what she sounded like when she had…

Ryouko shook her head. This was a terrible place to be thinking about things like that.

“Indeed…” She replied absently, and then jumped at the sound of sloshing water. Xandria had gotten up to move closer to her, water running down her body in rivers of earthy green, and Ryouko could see her in all her naked glory.

She flushed deeply, and she was sure it wasn't just from the heat.

(She wasn't like this around other women. What kind of effect did Xandria have on her?)

“Princess Ryouko,” she said softly, her face as red as Ryouko’s, but the brunette blamed her blush on the heat. “Allow me to wash your back.”

“V-very well.” She stammered, turning around, grateful to no longer be staring at her ally. She felt more than saw Xandria sit down, and gentle, calloused hands smoothed down the line of her back. She bit back a pleased shiver as Xandria began to practically massage her back, working out knots and kinks in her muscles as she washed her back. Her hands were soon in Ryouko’s hair, and she sighed deeply at the comforting sensation of Xandria's fingers combing through them. Gently the blonde straightened her hair out, and slowly she slung it over Ryouko's shoulder.

“Your hair is surprisingly soft, Princess Ryouko.”

She'd been used to Xandria’s silence, but the softness of her voice did not spook her. In fact, it only calmed her more.

“Well, I'm not surprised you'd think that, considering how it stands up when it’s dry.”

Xandria chuckled, an elegant, beautiful laugh.

“I find it adorable.” She warmly replied, and Ryouko’s eyes widened, the brunette whirling around to see Xandria’s eyes wide as well, her hand clapped over her mouth. “O-oh, forgive me.” She abruptly stood up again. “I have to go.”

She darted out of the baths and practically ran away into the changing room. Ryouko watched her go, alarmed, but eventually she sighed.

So Xandria found her adorable.

Progress.

* * *

The thirty-ninth time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, her eyes were welling with tears that spilled easily over her cheeks, her chest burned something fierce and really, no one should see her like this and yet here she was, standing over her as she mourned Scarlet’s death, silently offering her a clean white handkerchief.

Ryouko sheepishly took the offered cloth to dry her eyes, yet as she looked down at Scarlet’s body, her tears returned anew. She couldn’t help the sobs that escaped her as she mourned her dear friend, and Xandria knelt down to hug her with one arm.

Ryouko felt it wasn’t enough. Still sobbing she buried herself in Xandria’s arms, and the other princess simply let her cry on her shoulder, waiting patiently for her tears to run out.

She understood loss, it seemed. That was good.

She had heard from Hinoka about it—the concubine wars, Camilla had told her, were the darkest time in their family’s history. Their father had taken in so many concubines, and at the death of Xandria’s mother, all of them clamoured for the throne, desperate to the point where sibling had to spill another sibling’s blood.

Camilla had killed a lot of her siblings. Leona, too. Xandria, most of all.

She hugged Xandria tightly, and understood.

Loss was horrible, after all, and grief was oft one of the best glues to hold relationships together.

Xandria stroked her hair, whispering comforting nothings, and Ryouko took it all in.

Her kindness was nice to feel again. She could get used to this.

She looked up at Xandria, and the woman offered her a smile.

“Are you alright, Ryouko?”

She always dropped titles in intimate, delicate discussions like this. Just like she did, and she sighed, smiling fondly.

“In all truthfulness, no.” She answered, “However, I do feel much better.” She grasped Xandria’s hand and squeezed it.. “And I have you to thank for that.”

The blonde returned her smile. “... We _are_ friends, after all.” She paused, concern marring her face and she tacked on the end, “... Right?”

“Yes,” She replied, never skipping a beat, pulling her into a tight hug. “Friends.”

Xandria’s grip on her tightened, and her voice was barely a whisper.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Ryouko.” She said, “I know she was a close friend of yours.”

Ryouko nodded. “She was a strong woman. Amazing, and kind. She didn’t treat me any differently than other people. Others would simply talk down, or butter a princess up, but not her.” She buried her face in Xandria’s neck, and breathed in the scent of roses, and _her_. “She was a good friend.”

“Gods be merciful, she is in a better place now.” Xandria told her, “I pray you will find the strength to carry on being strong for her.”

Ryouko pulled away from her to smile at her through her tears.

“I think I already have.”

* * *

The forty-third time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, her world had been in darkness and her arms were bound together behind her. The sack was pulled off her head in time for her to snap at a Vallite who got too close, but Iago's (the bastard was supposed to be dead, gods damn it—Anankos really _did_ use _everyone_ ) hand on her nape had her lurching up against her will to see Xandria being dragged in, struggling against her own bonds, by a smirking Hans—dead, _supposed to be dead_ , a puppet of Anankos, like Arete, like… Scarlet.

She’d been careless. She and Xandria had scouted ahead of Corrin’s army for enemy troops, and they were ambushed as they passed by a crevice in the rock face, Vallites swarming them from the shadows like liquid darkness. They had no time to react, only to _fight_ , not even able to send for help from Corrin, and Ryouko, having no mount, was quickly overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of mounted warriors. She had hoped, at least, that Xandria had escaped, but the hope dissipated at the sight of her friend, a bruise under her eye, and her lip cut and bleeding.

“Princess Xandria!” She gasped, her struggling beginning anew, and she caught the blonde’s attention. The taller princess caught her eye, and she did not lurch forward towards Ryouko. She _crushed_ Hans’s foot under her heel, distracting him enough to let go of her bonds to let her free from him long enough to attack a few more soldiers before getting tackled down by more. Ryouko watched her, slack-jawed with amazement.

She had taken down three men with her hands bound.

Her cheeks flushed red.

“Ah, Princess Xandria, it’s been a while.” Iago drawled, tugging Ryouko back to slam her against the wall of a ruin, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Xandria bristled from where she was being held down by several men, and lashed out at him only to get kicked in the side by Hans. She barely looked winded, and Ryouko couldn’t be prouder of her. “The last I saw you was in the Bottomless Canyon, when dear little Princess Leona killed me.”

“I’d have done it myself, if she had not deserved to kill you more.” Xandria spat. The venom in her voice was enough to get Ryouko’s blood to grow cold, despite not being aimed at her. “I’m almost grateful you’re alive again, honestly. So that _I_ may pry your tome off your cold, dead fingers myself this time.”

“They would make a good souvenir for Princess Leona.” Iago agreed, remorseless, as he knelt down to grab the struggling princess’s chin. “But I suppose a beautiful eye of yours would be even better.”

Ryouko was surprised it wasn’t below Xandria to spit in his eye.

Iago recoiled, and Hans kicked Xandria again. Of course, she barely reacted.

“It’s not for her,” she growled. “I’m going to burn the gods-forsaken tome that brought you back to life in the first place. Scatter your ashes in the horses’ dung. Let it salt the earth the way you salted my little sisters’ lives for years.”

“She’s a mouthy one, isn’t she?” Hans suddenly spoke, and Xandria’s cold, hard glare shifted to him. “You weren’t like this the last time I saw you.”

The last time Hans had been alive, Ryouko had driven her sword into the man’s throat.

The berserker turned to leer at Ryouko. “Though, that was a while ago. I never got to see you the way Iago did, wet in the rain like the day we first met—a little Hoshidan bitch stopped me before I could.”

Ryouko hissed at him, kicking out when he reached for her, only for her body to freeze at the wave of Iago’s staff. Her eyes widened as her body disobeyed her wishes, unable to even scream in protest as Hans reached out to her again to yank off her shoulder guards, tearing her underclothes beneath.

Sickening fear struck her, low in her gut, boiling burning acid. She knew that look in those men’s eyes. It was the same look she saw in soldiers staring her down on her first days in the army. It was the same look the less honourable sort of her suitors cast her. It was the same look Takumi described to her, sobbing into her arms after yet another frightening nightmare.

Adrenaline and shock made her struggle against the hold on her anew. The freeze spell would eventually wear off. The silence spell, leave. She would not let him, she would _never_ —

Hans’s hand tore the rest of her sleeve down her shoulder, baring the whole left side of her torso, the white wraps modest around her breasts, remnants of the arrow she took for Xandria on her shoulder, and the ugly, jarringly black wound Siegfried left on her arm. Only her eyes could move, searching wildly for something, _anything_ that could help her, and Xandria’s screaming behind Hans made her heart race all the more.

“Let’s reminisce, Princess Xandria.” Iago was saying, Ryouko belatedly realised, as she was manhandled to lie back, panic rising in her throat to block it, thicker than her heart. “Years ago, you were a beautiful young lady of—how old was it, sixteen?”

Hans kicked her legs apart, and she found she could finally scream as he tore down the other side of her clothes.

“Iago, stop him!” Xandria screamed, hysteria clear in her voice, discordant with Ryouko’s panicked screaming. “I-I’m begging you, not Ryouko, not her, you’ve already done it to me, don’t do it to her—”

Ryouko’s heart stopped, her blood freezing in her veins.

_You’ve already done it to me._

“—Isn’t that what you wanted? The Crown Princess of Nohr under you, in your bed? Don’t bring her into this! I’ll-I’ll—I’ll do anything—”

“Ah, begging. It’s beautiful on you, Princess Xandria.”

Mercifully, Hans stopped, scowling at Ryouko for a moment to look over his shoulder at Xandria, who Ryouko could no longer see.

“She must be someone truly special to you, for you to beg so prettily like that. You pleaded with more composure for your sisters than this… Hoshidan scum.”

Hans kicked Ryouko’s limp body aside, and she spat out earth from her mouth as she struggled to turn to see Xandria being held tightly by four men, back on her feet, hands on her arms, her torso, and her neck, holding her impeccably still. Iago approached her, calm arrogance unfitting of a coward like him, and he caressed her cheek in a facsimile of care.

“Had you shown this to me years ago, my princess, I may have already committed treason against King Garon.”

Xandria bit at his fingers, rage and tears shining clear in her eyes, and haunting, debilitating fear shone harder through it all. Iago pulled his hand away before she could do any substantial damage.

“You’re a monster,” She snarled, “I should have killed you both when I had the chance. You, the moment you laid hands on Leona,” she then glowered at Hans, “And you, the moment I apprehended you.”

“Hah, you didn’t ‘apprehend’ me, princess. I _let_ you catch me.” Hans replied, grabbing a fistful of Xandria’s hair, her circlet coming loose and clattering to the ground. “If there’s anything I like more than a good kill, it’s seeing a woman like you do the killing.”

She jerked her head back away from his hand, but Hans held fast.

“Iago, I don’t want some Hoshidan bitch,” he said, “Learn to share.”

Xandria’s eyes widened, and Ryouko could see her fear. All the memories she repressed, the memories she likely hid from her sisters, from her retainers, from her father himself, flashing before her eyes, and when they landed on Ryouko, she saw the last thing she ever wanted to see in her friend’s eyes.

Defeat. Shame, for letting her find out like this.

And Ryouko saw red.

_“Dragon of the Dawn, as heir to your land, I exhort you in the name of a maiden’s tarnished honour to bestow your judgement on the unworthy!”_

The words, sharp and in the oldest superlative of Hoshidan, rolled off her tongue like muscle memory. She never had to use that incantation, the charm taught to her by her father when she became of age.

 _“Ryouko,”_ he had said, _“There will be dishonourable people in the world. As Kingdom of Dawn, we hold the balance of light and good in the world—and the Dawn Dragon will aid you if you call for it with honour and intent of the most noble nature.”_

She had been eighteen, then.

(Two years too late, a dark voice whispered at the back of her mind.)

She prayed quietly this cause was noble enough for the Dragon to heed her call. It _had_ to. It _had_ to save Xandria, where she couldn’t. It _had_ to save them _both_ , else…

Else she lost faith in it altogether.

Overhead the sky rumbled ominously, and Iago and Hans stopped. Iago whirled around to glower at Ryouko, still on the ground, but she simply smirked at him.

 _“Pay for your sins.”_ She snarled in Hoshidan, and before Iago could even speak, the Dawn Dragon rained down on them its furious lightning bolts, burning all those unworthy down into dust.

Ryouko winced, feeling the rope binding her wrists together behind her burn away, the flames licking at her wrists. She got over it quickly, charging forward to catch Xandria as she fell, the disappearing ash of Vallites and Iago and Hans blowing away in the wind as the skies above them cleared. She was shaking, all her walls crumbling in that single moment as Ryouko pulled her into a tight hug.

As Xandria hugged her back, she realised she was shaking, too.

The wind blew around them gently, the fields of Valla deceitfully peaceful, but between the two women brewed a storm they weathered together.

* * *

Corrin found them later, alongside Camilla, Hinoka and Elise. The only boy of their too-large family rode in front of Elise, as above them Camilla and Hinoka flew their mounts, and at the sight of the two crown princesses hugging each other tightly in a field of forgotten weapons, bloody, bruised and a little more broken than before, the rescue party exploded in a flurry of activity. Camilla, after gently prying her older sister’s iron-like grip from Ryouko with soft, reassuring words, bundled Xandria up in a blanket she was glad Corrin had her bring with her, before gently leading her sister by the hand to look for her missing sword. Hinoka did the same, hugging Ryouko tightly first at the sight of her clothes torn and her armour on the ground, before offering her a blanket to wrap around her shaking shoulders. Elise bounded over to her, worry clear on her face, and after waving a festal over her—the thought made Ryouko laugh in relief, how Elise fittingly brought Sakura’s festal with her instead of her staff, unwittingly averting the likely panic attack she would have launched Ryouko into.

“Thank you,” she managed, nodding at Elise’s comforting, encouraging smile, and watched her hurry over to her older sisters to heal Xandria. Corrin came up to her, brow creased and anger clear on his face, but she knew it was not aimed at her nor at Xandria. “Vallites overwhelmed us in an ambush.” She reported, and Corrin flinched. “Their commanders were Iago and Hans.”

“ _No._ ” Corrin breathed. “Then Big Sister Xandria…”

Ryouko lowered her eyes. “They caught the both of us, and they tried to…”

Corrin’s expression hardened into one of pure _rage_.

“Xandria pleaded for me. They turned their attention to her.” Corrin’s hand balled into a tight fist, and Ryouko gently laid her hand over it. “But I killed them all.” Her eyes were impassive, bright with brittle anger that would explode into rage herself. “All you see is what are left of them.”

“Thank you.” Corrin stiffly said, and pulled Ryouko into a hug. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Thank you,” Ryouko stroked Corrin’s hair, and let him pull away. “But I’m more worried about Xandria. She said… something.”

Corrin frowned, biting his lip. “So Leona _was_ right…”

“She hid it from you?”

Corrin simply shook quietly, and she squeezed his trembling hand. “I would do the same.”

Corrin gaped at her, and Ryouko stroked his hair reassuringly. “We are both firstborn sisters, Corrin. We think alarmingly alike.”

Away from them, Elise let out a cheer, their small party having discovered where Siegfried was left lying in the grass, and Corrin turned to look at them, a sad expression on his face.

“I will take care of it,” Ryouko found herself saying, watching as Xandria shakily picked her sword up again. “We’re friends, after all.”

* * *

The forty-fifth time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, the blonde woman was facing away from her, looking out her window as she sat on her bed in her room in Corrin’s astral castle, and a goblet of wine was held loosely in her hands. The forty-fourth time had been brief; just a cursory glance at her across the table at dinner, in time to watch Xandria pick her plate up and walk away.

Ryouko shut the door behind her softly, Xandria making no move to acknowledge her presence, but she knew with the way her shoulders were tense, held together like a coiled spring ready to recoil, that the blonde knew it was just her.

“Xandria,” she said gently, and that was all she could say. She came to a stop at the other side of Xandria’s bed, spying her untouched dinner on the bedside table.

“Forgive me, Ryouko.” She quietly said, and Ryouko could see her hand, white-knuckled around the stem of the goblet and trembling. “You heard something distasteful about me. I… am ashamed for you to have found out like that.” She paused, “At all.” she tacked on at the end.

Ryouko sighed, and climbed onto her bed, kicking her slippers off and pulled Xandria back into a warm hug from behind. She did not miss the way Xandria jolted slightly, hesitating to lean back against Ryouko’s chest, but at the assurance of a simple hug, she let Ryouko pull her back to lean against her. She smelled of her home’s roses, of fresh linen, and of wine.

Xandria was drunk.

“It changes little of what I think of you.”

“Ah, but it _has_ changed something.”

“Yes.”

Xandria shook in her arms, and even without seeing her face, Ryouko knew she was crying.

“I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“No, Xandria,” and she dared to kiss her friend’s cheek. “Now I realise that you are a much braver woman than I could ever be.” Xandria stilled in her embrace, but she continued, “You had gone through so much, lost so many things, and your life has been stained for so long. Yet you are here—the cornerstone and foundation of your sisters, their fortress and protector against everything.”

“Ryouko, I _failed_. Camilla and Leona suffer wounds deep enough to last them a lifetime.” Her voice was shaking, stuttery and brittle with the alcohol loosening her tongue and her tears. “I couldn’t protect them. Iago still—he—”

“Xandria.” Ryouko cut her off, and gently she turned her around to face her, cupping her face delicately, thumbing away the tears that rolled down her face. “You are not the Dusk Dragon. You are not some omnipotent god who controls everything. You are Princess Xandria of Nohr, a human being, and to err is human. You did what you could. Princesses Camilla and Leona do not blame you.” She smiled at her gently, and pressed their foreheads together. “Princess Elise is safe, thanks to you. Corrin is safe, thanks to you. _I_ am safe, thanks to you.”

“ _Ryouko_.” Xandria breathed her name like a prayer, a soft sob in the tumultuous storm of her fear, her anxiety, her crushing loneliness and pain. The blonde pulled her into a hug, and Ryouko let her sob into the cloth of her kimono, rubbing her back comfortingly as she poured her heart out to her, not in any coherent words of explanation—Ryouko could wait for that—but in the broken sobs that wracked her body. She poured years upon years’ worth of pain, of bottled-up secrets she kept close to herself.

Ryouko remembered what she overheard with Xandria’s conversation with Camilla.

_I must maintain a certain distance, even from my family._

Now she knew why.

It wasn’t because she was Crown Princess.

It was because of the weight she bore. Of all the sins she’s done, of all the sins done to her.

Frowning at that, Ryouko hugged her that much tighter, and wished she could kiss all her tears away.

* * *

The one-hundred and thirty-third time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, the blonde had fallen asleep on one of the armchairs in the library of Corrin’s castle, bundled up in a blanket with a half-read tome on her lap, her head missing her characteristic crown to have it sitting on the table next to her. Ryouko came to a slow stop at the sight of her so relaxed and unguarded, her head lolled to the side slightly and her hair, longer now, having since grown out since the last time she was home at Nohr, tumbled down her shoulders in elegant golden waves.

Like this, she looked like a painting. A portrait of a beautiful woman asleep, safe in a cosy library. Ryouko would have hated anyone to disturb her.

Her lips were parted slightly, her breaths condensing into small puffs of air thanks to the coldness of winter around them. In the soft light from outside they looked pink, shiny and warm, curving softly in a smooth curve that gave no indication it had been split and bleeding a few weeks ago.

Like that, Ryouko’s traitorous mind whispered, what did Xandria’s lips taste like, she wondered.

The brunette shook her head to clear it of any stray thoughts, but her eyes kept wandering back to Xandria’s prone form. The way her neck craned slightly to make it look like she was surrendering, a column of clean, unbroken skin tantalising and tempting. It didn’t help her blouse’s laces were undone under her chin, possibly to help her relax some more, but all it did was allow Ryouko to see her collarbones, and the strap of her black bra.

It was so easy to kiss her like this, a dark voice in her head murmured. To slide into her lap, tangle her fingers in her hair and kiss her until they were both breathless. To toss the tome over her shoulder in favour of unlacing Xandria’s corset and blouse, to feel her warm skin underneath.

No, Ryouko, she thought. You are her friend. Do not take advantage of her like this.

How had she ever thought of taking advantage of her? She was not—

Like the landing of a honeydrop onto hot water, realisation struck her.

Xandria groaned softly, a line marring her brow, as she murmured one name.

“ _Ryouko._ ”

Murmured like a prayer to the great gods. Like the whisper of desire.

Takumi was right about her. Like the slow, slow flow of honey from the bottle’s rim, she let it happen, festering and falling over their years apart, gravity pulling harder the closer to the ground in their time together once again. Blissfully, sweetly unaware of it happening, until it was too late.

_“There’s too much honey in your tea, Ryouko.” Young Xandria’s voice was light with the lilt of a giggle, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she laughed. “You should’ve been paying attention to the honey bottle!”_

She pulled her haori off, slowly, and draped it over Xandria’s front. It earned her a sleepy smile from the princess, and Ryouko finally _knew_.

In a stroke of boldness Ryouko leant forward to brush her lips against Xandria’s, and quietly left the library, ordering the guards stationed there not to allow anyone inside, much to Leona’s chagrin.

She smiled to herself, touching her lips as she walked hurriedly back to her room.

Finally, she thought. She finally understood.

* * *

The two-hundred and seventy-ninth time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, the blonde was in the garrison’s armoury, looking at a wooden broadsword she had picked up from the shelf. There was a pensive look on her face, a small smile on her lips, as if she was remembering something fondly from the past.

“Penny for your thoughts, Xandria?” She said, and the blonde jumped, turning to see her. A laugh bubbled out of her, heady with relief, and she looked back down at the broadsword.

“Doesn’t this look familiar to you?” she asked, and Ryouko hummed, smiling slightly to pick up a shinai from the cabinet she stood next to. Xandria watched her with a smile crossing her face slowly.

“Particularly, yes.” She nodded, and, after a beat, “Shall we take this outside? The weather is beautiful today.”

“After you,” Xandria gestured at the open doorway, and as Ryouko set foot outside the armoury, Xandria was already lunging at her, a laugh on her lips, and joy in her eyes. Ryouko was quick to parry her attack, and soon baited and feinted Xandria in their spar, coaxing her from the armoury to the open courtyard in view of the pearl spring and the peach tree, where Camilla and Hinoka were gathering resources together, stopping to watch their older sisters fight with amusement in their eyes.

It was like the old days, Ryouko thought, happy, as she dealt blows and dodged them, already having spent enough time with Xandria to know how she fought in a fair fight. She dimly noted Saizo approaching them to stand at the corner, and Corrin taking a seat on a rock at the edge of the pearl spring to watch them, delighted. She turned in an elegant spiral, her kimono flying like a performance to dodge Xandria’s forward slash, and she saw Takumi and Leona attempting to hide behind a wall of Nohrian thunbergia vines.

“That was beautiful,” Xandria complimented her, and she grinned back to grab her hand, twirling her the way she saw her father did when he danced in the ballroom with Xandria’s mother out of friendly courtesy. She had some difficulty—Xandria was slightly taller than her—but the blonde let her turn her, laughing, before she parried the ambush jab Ryouko sent her way.

“You spun too,” she said, and Xandria huffed fondly in response.

Ryouko jabbed at Xandria’s opening, only to have her blocked, and the taller woman swung her sword at Ryouko in time for her to jump away. She heard Leona hiss something from behind the vines, but she dismissed it, assuming some shared secret she had with Takumi, and charged in again, Xandria dodging elegantly to the side in a twirl much like the one Ryouko let her do moments ago. She huffed in laughter, as Xandria swung at Ryouko again to be met with a parry, smoothly transitioning to a deflect. She recovered quickly, hurrying back away from danger, but Ryouko was faster, swatting at her foot with the shinai to knock her down. The wooden broadsword flew out of Xandria’s hands, clattering away to Corrin’s feet, the dragon prince clapping delightedly.

“That was amazing, the two of you!” He cheered, and Ryouko offered him a grateful smile, before making her way to Xandria to let her up.  
  
“A little faster next time, my friend,” she warmly said, and Xandria chuckled as she took Ryouko’s hand to get up on her feet. Ryouko pulled her up, a little more forcefully than intended, and Xandria stumbled forward to land awkwardly in the shorter woman’s arms.   
  
“O-oh, I-I'm terribly sorry, Princess Ryouko!” Xandria stammered, flushing deep red as Ryouko did the same. Nohrian sensibility made her slip back into courtly manners when she was flustered, and while Ryouko grew a distaste for Xandria addressing her like that, she, too, slipped into formal speech.   
  
“N-no, the fault was mine, Princess Xandria! I know I am sometimes unaware of my strength…” she knew it sounded like she was making excuses, but the warmth of Xandria’s body pressed against hers was setting her heart on fire, and the smoke clouded her judgement. She made no move to part from her, enjoying her warmth at her side too much, and Xandria didn’t move either.

Leona’s voice pitched into a high tone, somewhere behind the thunbergia, and she laughed awkwardly.

“Princess Leona seems to be having fun with Takumi.” She stammered, but all she could think of was how high Xandria’s voice would go during sex. She shook her head, finally mustering the strength to pull away from the blonde, thanks to the shock that hit her at the thought of her friend like that. “I-I’m terribly sorry, truly.”

“A-as am I,” Xandria replied, blushing deeply, and Ryouko knew she was blushing hard as well. Corrin was laughing his head off, at their expense, no doubt, and Ryouko never before wanted to hit him upside the head more than now.

“You know, the two of you should spit it out already.” Corrin commented, as Ryouko fumbled to pick up Xandria’s broadsword. “Honestly, the two of you are so close now all you gotta do is kiss or something.”

“Corrin!” Twin voices scolded at him, loud with embarrassment, and he only laughed some more.

“Only a matter of time!” He cooed, and suddenly Silas was at his side, asking him to look at something. Corrin gave his older sisters both a smile, and followed Silas away.

Xandria looked at Ryouko, her cheeks still aflame, and the brunette sighed back at her.

“I'm sorry for Corrin.” She said, and Xandria laughed weakly.

“So am I.” She replied, making vague gestures with her hands, and Ryouko was reminded of their first talk together. “He's usually so sweet.”

“Well.” Ryouko laughed. “Children grow up.”

Xandria’s smile back at her felt intimate, private, and Ryouko’s blush deepened. “Um, maybe we should change our activities.”

“Oh, yes.” Xandria nodded. “Tea?”

Ryouko could only nod.

* * *

Watching Xandria prepare tea for the both of them was a surreal experience. It wasn't like the tea ceremonies back in Hoshido; this was more private. More intimate.

The two of them sat across each other, between them an array of sweets from both Hoshido and Nohr, brought in by Jakob and Flora (Felicia, mercifully, was preoccupied). Ryouko watched the careful, controlled way Xandria poured their drinks—black tea, Xandria’s preference—and she briefly imagined what Xandria would look like in a kimono, pouring her tea, preparing herself for her samurai lady.

She blushed deeply, as Xandria set down a teacup in front of her. “Honey,” she said, gesturing at a small bottle to her left. “I know how you prefer your tea sweeter.”

Xandria offered her a smile, and Ryouko awkwardly smiled back at her.

“Thank you.”

She paid more attention to Xandria’s elegant way of preparing her tea, sliding in one, two sugar cubes, reaching for the milk, before hesitating.

“There's too much honey in your tea, Ryouko.” She chuckled, resting her hand on Ryouko’s wrist, her voice echoing their past together. “You should've been paying attention to the honey bottle.”

“Ah,” was all Ryouko could say, as Xandria pulled her hand back to tip the bottle away from her teacup. Xandria was smiling at her, her eyes warm and gentle, and so… _loving_.

Corrin’s words rang in her ears.

 _“You know, the two of you should spit it out already.”_ He taunted in her head. _“Only a matter of time!”_

“You're beautiful.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could rein them in. Xandria flushed prettily, as startled by Ryouko’s confession as she was, and she let go of Ryouko’s hand to cover her mouth, where a shy smile began to spread.

“U-um, thank you?” She stammered back. “I-I don't know where your compliment came from, but I find you beautiful as well, Ryouko.”

There was a long moment of charged silence. The two princesses made no move to drink their tea, nor to eat any of the sweets on the table. They were more concerned with looking at each other, nervously waiting for the other to speak, to address what just happened between them.

Eventually, Ryouko flushed deeply. “Xandria. There has been something I wanted to tell you for a while now.”

Xandria wrung her hands, nervous. “... As do I.” She mumbled. “Has it… something to do with what Corrin said?”

“Yes.” She replied reluctantly. “I… I think you're an amazing woman, Xandria, despite your past, despite our nations at war with each other. I-I respect you deeply, and I admire the way you care for your sisters so well—”

“Ryouko, that's nothing I haven't heard of you.” Xandria’s smile was warm, her cheeks a lovely pink. “You don't have to go through all the tedious talk. Keep it simple.”

Simple, she says. Make it easy.

Xandria peered at her shyly. “Just kiss me, please.”

And she had never felt truer relief. Ryouko shot up from where she sat, crossing over to Xandria’s seat in two steps to pull her in for a deep kiss.

She tasted like tea, and wine and steak, like tears, and sweets long gone, forgotten over the years.

She felt like everything Ryouko dreamed she would.

Deepening the kiss, Ryouko pushed her back against the backrest of her armchair, pinning her there with her weight as she climbed onto Xandria’s lap, straddling her waist. The blonde softly moaned into her mouth as Ryouko gently pried her lips open with her tongue, rubbing hers against Xandria's to coax her out into her own mouth.

They parted, panting deeply, and Xandria never looked more beautiful with her eyes wide, cheeks flushed red and swollen lips. With the way Xandria’s eyes flickered down to her mouth and dilated, she was sure the blonde thought of her the same way.

Simple, she thought, but she said it anyway.

“I love you, Xandria.”

She smiled back at her and simply kissed her again.

* * *

Later, with Xandria’s shaking thighs bracing her head and her skirt hiding her from the world, Ryouko thought about the smithy, and of beautiful pearls on beautiful women.

Not as a necklace, or earrings, those impeded performance in the battlefield.

Rings, though—a ring sounded nice.

* * *

“If I asked you to marry me, Xandria, would you accept?”

“Of course.”

A beat.

“But as a princess, I have some reservations.”

“I'll be the best wife you can ask for.”

“Hah, that I know, Ryouko.” A soft kiss, the rustle of sheets. “But we are crown princesses of our own kingdoms. Our people need us to rule. How then? We cannot shirk our duties. Our birthrights.”

“It was one kingdom, once.”

The blonde fell silent.

“Can we make this work?” She asked quietly.

“Yes,” she said, without a hint of hesitation.

“Yes.” Xandria replied, and it wasn't affirmation.

It was acceptance.

* * *

The two-hundredth and ninety-ninth time Princess Ryouko saw Princess Xandria, Corrin’s army began their march towards Castle Valla, Arete having just defeated, and Azura, in desperate need of something joyous to ease the pain of losing her mother again. She strode alongside Xandria’s horse, watching Azura grieve, and her heart broke for the woman she saw as her sister, much like how she saw Corrin as her brother.

Xandria also looked sympathetic. “I wish we could do something.” She said, “Anything, to cheer her up.”

Ryouko remembered the lucky charm she kept with her in the folds of her underclothes, and nodded. “There is, something.”

Xandria looked at her, her head cocked, and Ryouko offered her her hand. “Please, could you get down from there?”

Xandria nodded, taking Ryouko’s hand and dismounting. “Friends, allies,” Ryouko began, her voice carrying over their retinue, and Azura and Corrin turned to look at them. Tears were still fresh in her eyes. “I wish to help Azura find happiness again.”

Azura blinked owlishly, and Corrin rubbed her arm comfortingly. “How, big sister?” he asked for her.

Ryouko smiled. She and Xandria had yet to let go of each other’s hands. “Nohr and Hoshido have been forced into an alliance since the beginning of our journey into Valla. I, speaking for the kingdom of Hoshido, wish to cement our alliance, in front of all you present here, not just as allies, but as family.” She looked at the blonde, her confusion simply _adorable_ on her face. “May this bring you happiness and assurance, my little sister.” She said, softly, more privately, to Azura, and the blue-haired woman’s eyes widened.

“Ryouko—”

“I, High Princess Ryouko of Hoshido, ask you, Crown Princess Xandria of Nohr,” she got down on one knee, and Xandria’s eyes widened.

“Ryouko,” she breathed.

“To be my bride, my partner and Queen until the end of my days.” She finished, producing the pearl ring she forged herself. “A pearl, meant for a beautiful woman.” She smiled, private between them. “Like you.”

She said it this time, unafraid.

Xandria’s eyes welled with joy that spilled, overflowing from her heart. “I accept your proposal, Princess Ryouko.” Even at a joyous occasion, she could never lose herself. “May our union unite our nations, and bring hope even to the kingdom of Valla, and our dear siblings, Corrin and Azura.”

Ryouko pulled her gauntlet off to slip the ring on her finger, and the army, their sisters and Corrin cheered, their happiness echoing in the empty air of the Fallen Kingdom. Ryouko turned to see Azura smiling at her softly, now with tears rolling down her cheeks, but she knew she was happy.

There is hope now, she thought. There is _always_ hope.

**Author's Note:**

> ~~yes the title is a reference~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~yes, leona's taunt at takumi was a reference~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~yes, ryouko's thunder attack was a reference~~


End file.
